(LifeSiteNews) — Hunting, raising livestock, and even killing mice in an attic would become illegal under an extreme initiative being pushed in Oregon.
Leftist animal rights activists are pushing yet again to make animals and humans equal in law. The initiative, IP 28, would make it illegal for anyone in the state to raise cattle, hunt deer, or even breed dogs. They have tried in the past to push through the extreme ballot initiative.
The “Yes on IP28” team, many of whom use gender-confused pronouns, say they are fighting for “animal liberation.”
The initiative, which is still gathering signatures, would “be an important step towards a more compassionate state for nonhuman animals,” “Avery,” who uses “she/they” pronouns, explains on the group’s website.
“David” explains how he hopes the initiative reimagines human-animal relations.
“When voters in Oregon are asked—for the first time in world history—whether they would like to protect animals from slaughter, hunting, experimentation, and forced breeding, I believe those conversations will help wake us up to how we currently relate to animals and illuminate what alternative relations are possible,” the website states.
The initiative suffers from serious practical and moral problems according to experts, however.
The Oregon Hunters Association said the initiative, if passed, would all but destroy farmers’ markets, because no in-state dairy or milk could be sold. By extension, that means most agriculture would be eliminated.
The association also called the initiative “an attack on a self-reliant lifestyle.” All killing of animals, except in self-defense, would be prohibited.
Furthermore, the law bans pest control. Restaurants, bars, and any location that sells food would become dirtier and unsanitary as it would be illegal to kill pests.
The law would also make it harder to safely train animals and conduct scientific research, according to the hunters’ advocacy group.
The proposal failed twice since 2021 and “ha[d] not received attention or support from any major national animal-rights organizations,” according to the Oregon Hunters Association. However, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals then gave $10,000 to support the petition, signaling broader support for the so-called animal rights movement.
This shift suggests the initiative may actually pass.
Bioethical expert Wesley Smith shared these concerns in an essay for National Review.
“IP28 illustrates that the animal rights movement is not ultimately about improving animal welfare as activists sometimes pretend,” he wrote. “Rather, the ideology seeks to end all human uses of animals and create a false equality between people and fauna.”
Smith said opponents of the bill should be concerned it could pass in Oregon, a notably liberal state.
“In an era where many among us ‘feel’ more than ‘think,’ the potential for such radical proposals becoming law cannot be dismissed out of hand,” Smith warned.
